This Thanksgiving Harpua included the first-ever Glowstick War, as Trey narrated a story involving happy green love beams and angry red hate beams. In the soundcheck, the jam contained Golgi quotes and the Sweet Adeline was Trey only. This show was released as part of the Chicago '94 box set.

Show Reviews

(this discussion regarding the "first glowstick war" took place 13 years ago at rec.music.phish)
(posted by markah@umich.edu -- all original typos were left uncorrected)

On Sun, 14 Dec 1997, Jason Cowles wrote:
> That's all fine and dandy, but the FIRST glowstick war acually took place
> during the 11/25/94 Harpua when the green love beams battled the evil red
> beam of vocal hatred (or something like that... it was some time ago). So,
> the Went glowstick war was actually kind of a recreation of a past event
> in its own right...

I never even thought of that one. 11/25/94 was my first show, and that
moment was neat. But by no means does it compare to the power and majesty
of the Went. For those of you who weren't there on 11/25/94, during
Harpua, Trey began talking about angry red beams of vocal hatred coming
down from the mountain where Harpua and his mean, nasty owner lived [this
was a special Thanksgiving Harpua Story] and Poster Nutbag emmitted Green
Love Beams to combat the Giant Angry Red Beam of Vocal Hatred. Very funny
story. I had no idea at the time what I was witnessing. Anyway, during
the story, Trey paused (which makes me at times think this was planed) and
someone from the upper balcony of the UIC Pavillion chucked what seemed to
be about 50-100 green glowsticks down onto the floor right in front of
Page. It appeared to be a vendor who was carring them around in a box or
something, because they just *showered* down. Trey responded with "Look
at all the green love beams!" It was really cool.

At the Great Went, however, the entire theme of that second set was to
focus on the synergism between the audience and the band. That's what the
2001 jam was all about. That's what I (and many other people) felt during
the Bathtub Gin, and that's why I went bonkers (quite literally) when he
started talking about that mutual energy. When that glorious Hood came
on, and the lights were turned out at Trey's request so that we could look
at the "moon and our sculpture" it was like everything about Phish's
music was exemplified, right there for that brief moment. When one person
threw their glowstick, then two, then twenty, until it was raining "Green
Love Beams" it was, for me, the epitomie of the Phish experience. Here
was the audience, participating in and playing an active role in the
atmosphere, life, and direction of the music; just what Trey had finished
talking about.

I was very worried when I saw there had been a glowstick war at Albany. I
haven't seen many positive comments about it, only those who have said
"the band approved, so it must be ok." Now I wasn't there, so take this
with a grain of salt, but I cannot imagine that the experience there was
intense as it was at the Went. In fact, the only comments on the music
that I've heard was that the Hood was "ok."

I can understand those of you who think this could become a truly great
tradition, to throw glowsticks during the lightsless jam in Harry Hood at
the close of each tour, but I'd rather not see that happen again. Like
someone said, the last thing we want is for Phish to become predictable.

This was my first show of any kind. We were way up, and a lot of seats were empty in front of us, but I couldn't move! I thought if you got caught in a seat that wasn't yours, you would get in trouble or something. I was just blown away by all the colors and interesting people everywhere. I was never the same. Thanks Vermont!

This was my first show, and my first experience with the maelstrom of sound and fury called Phish. We were a group of young, hapless hippies with a few Dead shows under our belt, but otherwise NO CLUE. I don't remember too much about our entry, or who bought the tickets, or the events leading up to the show. I do remember standing kind of near the back of the floor with our group, hearing those few notes of Trey's guitar, Fish's little drum roll, and then "Llama" hit us in the chest like a freight train and we went flying - literally, into each other, bouncing around, communing with these strange happy souls, these "Phans" as they - and we - would be known. The cacophony of "Llama", the deep funk/reggae of "Guelah Papyrus", the majesty of "Reba", the wacky circus dirge "Esther" - I watched these four guys play these songs - in a line! They stood in a line! Who DOES that?? - and my eyes never left. My eyes and ears were forever captivated. I felt suspended from time and space. The sound, the lights - this was what a concert should BE.
At some point, we got up to the front. I don't remember how; it was one of those things. You see an opening, you follow a guy, a girl - or, and I think this is what it was more like - you determine I AM GOING TO GET MUCH, MUCH CLOSER and you just start walking. The crowd before you, sensing your determination, clears a path. And before you know it, you're THREE ROWS BACK, and you're looking at these guys, but they're not guys anymore - they are GODS, they are titans, they are ephemeral beings levitating us over Mt. Olympus and showing us the universe as we had never seen. And with that second set, they blew that universe WIDE OPEN. The "2001>Mike's>Simple" was a slow opening cosmic rift, like the fabric of space and time being stretched to the point of ripping open and letting whatever madness lurking behind it come bellowing forth in a tidal wave of incomprehension. Seriously, at some point in "Simple" a wormhole opened up, and we were transported through a black hole (a la Cygnus X-1) and brought into a mountainous world of angry old men, wild slobbering dogs, an innocent boy and his pet cat. And love beams. Green love beams and Angry red vocal hatred beams. They were everywhere! I had never seen a glowstick war at a concert, and I've never seen one like this since. It was staged, of course, but the audience feedback of retaliation with the "love beams" to combat the "vocal hatred beams" - you'd have thought, witnessing it, that there was really a battle of good and evil going on and Trey was enlisting all of us as his footsoldiers to take up the cause. And ever since, I've thought of every Phish show in that same context, band and audience together charging evil head-on with our "love beams" dancing, smiling, spinning, cheering - supporting our Phour Phearless Leaders. Yes, my first show contained my first "Harpua" and first (some say THE first) glowstick war. Was I the luckiest sonsabitch alive? Maybe. I think so, at least. And there was still that "Weekapaug>Mango Song" (still one of the best transitions they've ever pulled off IMO), still that "Purple Rain" with that goofy little Greazy Fizeek and his silly dress and vacuum cleaner, OWNING that shit like he was Sinatra. And Run Like an Antelope, to spend the rest of our synapses and seratonin. "Good Times Bad Times" was a bit ironic for a cap-off - could there even BE bad times with this band?? - but their masterful take on Zeppelin really "Brought it on home" for us at the end.
In short, everything was amazing and enough to "hook" me for the next twenty years. And I'm glad to see "the boys" most recently continuing to explore that headspace that we all embody, capturing an imagination we never knew we had, the Phab Phour plus CK5 creating the most perfect aural and visual show money will ever buy. Thank you, Phish, for 20 years of ripping open that universal fabric for me, and leaving me never the same.

11/25/94 was my first concert of any kind, ever. I was barely 14 years old. Over the last 20 years I've seen over 180 Phish shows, over 1000 of other bands, and spent 12 years working as an entrepreneur in the music business, which includes developing Phanatic – the first Phish related setlist app back in '09, partnered with phish.net.

It's been a beautiful 20 years – friends, experiences, jams of all kinds. Looking back in time, I pin point everything to this night, 11/25/94.

Phollow your passions and life will be beautiful.

David Blutenthal

p.s - the Reba is redic.
p.p.s - the transition from Mike's > Simple still gives me goosebumps.
p.p.p.s - this was the first public "throwing of glowsticks" but definitely not an outright war. As said in previous posts here, it was one person in the upper balcony above Page tossing green sticks (love beams), timed into the Harpua story...and one red beam as well.

Llama always makes a great opener. There are a few minor slip-ups in the Asse Festival section of Guelah Papyrus, nothing major. The following Reba is very good. Split Open and Melt's jam is intense, but a little different from your normal SOAM. Also, listen for the siren at the end of SOAM that would also be used in 2001 later in the show. Esther, Julius, and Golgi are played well.

Highlights of the first set are Reba and Split Open and Melt.

After the typically compact 2001 to open the second set, things get rolling with a great Mike's Groove with extra improvisation in Simple and Weekapaug. This Simple is must-hear, as is Harpua if you want to hear some good narration about the real history of Thanksgiving. The Groove ends with a pretty good -> into Mango Song. We all know Purple Rain is an entertaining Fishman song where he gets to really belt it out. The Run Like an Antelope set closer is solid, and a Good Times Bad Times encore sends the people home happy.

Donate to Mockingbird

Contact Us

The Mockingbird Foundation

The Mockingbird Foundation is a non-profit organization founded by Phish fans in 1996 to generate charitable proceeds from the Phish community.

And since we're entirely volunteer – with no office, salaries, or paid staff – administrative costs are less than 2% of revenues! So far, we've distributed over $1,000,000 to support music education for children – hundreds of grants in all 50 states, with more on the way.